The Sacramento, CA suburb of Elk Grove is home to a large Sikh community that, in 2011, mourned the loss of two grandfathers that were gunned down by an unknown shooter. A year later, a white supremacist walked into the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin and opened fire, killing six worshipers and leaving a police lieutenant wounded.
This 2012 attack in Oak Creek, WI is the focus of our film, Waking in Oak Creek, detailing the community’s response to one of the deadliest hate crime attacks in recent U.S. history. We brought Oak Creek’s story to the California State Capitol Theater in Sacramento in August, bridging these two communities' stories of crisis, loss and healing.
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Educators play a key role in fostering a safe, accepting environment in the classroom. Our newest lesson plan uses our new documentary, Waking In Oak Creek, to focus on religious inclusivity and how to teach students about the Sikh religion and accepting others’ beliefs.
According to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, rates of bullying against Sikh children “range from roughly half to over three-quarters.” Additionally, the Sikh Coalition has found that discrimination and bullying for turbaned Sikhs have increased exponentially since Sept. 11, 2001.
Bowling Green Community Stands Together Against Racist Tweets, Again
This weekend, our film crew joined the Oak Creek, WI community as they gather to remember those lost in the fatal shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin on Aug. 5, 2012.Find photos from the Chardi Kala 6K Memorial Run & Walk: Turning Tragedy into Triumph event on Saturday. Tonight we join the Oak Creek community vigil.
Community Rallies in Response to Attack on Gay Rights Activist
By Caitlin Grams
Not In Our School and the UNITED SIKHS presented the winning films for the NIOS and United Sikhs Anti-Bullying Video Contest at the Gurdwara Sahib in Fremont, CA in June. The contest asked Sikh students from across the state to create short videos to share their anti-bullying message and teach peers of all backgrounds about the Sikh culture and religion. The goal of the contest was to promote intercultural understanding and to help create welcoming environments that are free of bullying.
FBI to track hate crimes against Sikhs, Hindus, and other groups
CREDIT: The Sikh Coalition
After prolonged campaigning by advocates for the Sikh-American community, the FBI announced this week that they would start monitoring hate crimes against Sikhs, Hindus, and other religious groups, as well as Arab-American and Middle-Eastern communities, according to The Washington Post. Harpreet Saini, whose mother was murdered at the mass shooting in Oak Creek, WI last year, said, “This is a step in the right direction to ensure that no one else will have to suffer what my brother and I suffered after losing our mother to a hate crime last August.”
The BULLY Project Reaches 1 Million Kids